"Appreciated."
He hung up.
Cara set down the phone and stared at her hands. They weren't shaking.
But they should be.
She knew how investigations worked. PIs specialized in checking peoples’ backgrounds. So whether he’d been sent to Haven Cove to find Carly Reid or not, he could have been looking into Cara’s background.
She had to find out what the man discovered before Gabe Sawyer did.
6
Gabe staredat his phone for three seconds after Cara Sweet hung up.
Marco Ruiz. Private investigator. Portland.
He pulled out his laptop and opened it on the breakfast table. Even this far away from the water, salt air drifted up from the marina, mixing with the smell of diesel and fish. The public databases loaded slowly on the spotty cell signal but eventually pulled up what he needed.
Marco Ruiz, licensed PI. Portland, Oregon. One-man operation based out of a small office in Southeast Portland. The Oregon licensing board listed him as active, bonded, insured. Standard stuff.
Gabe pulled up the DMV photo.
Dark hair. Medium build. Late thirties. Sharp, intelligent eyes.
The same face he'd seen on the beach this morning.
He studied the image for a long moment, comparing it mentally to the crime scene. Same nose. Same jaw line. Same build.
Preliminary match.
He dialed Price.
"Talk to me," Price answered on the first ring.
"I've got a name on the victim. Marco Ruiz, PI out of Portland. DMV photo looks like a match, but we'll need official confirmation through prints." Gabe closed his laptop. "Can you dig into his background? Off the books for now. I don't want to use Bureau resources yet."
A beat of silence. Then Price's voice came back dry. "A wise choice."
"Exactly."
"What do you need?"
"Anything you can scrape up. Financials. Known associates. A client list would be nice.”
A snort came over the line. “Dream on.”
“Yeah. Well, I guy can dream.”
Keys clicked on the other end. "I'm on it. Give me an hour."
"Thanks, man."
"Gabe?" Price's tone shifted. "If Morrison finds out you're running an off-book investigation?—"
"He won't find out."
"Just saying. Be careful."
